This invention relates to devices for feeding fish, and more particularly, to apparatus that can be operated by the fish to dispense a small quantity of dried fish food.
One of the problems associated with raising fish for personal enjoyment or profit is proper feeding and care during periods in which no one is present to manually dispense the required amount of food. For example, many people who raise fish in an aquarium, or other tank-like enclosure are away from their residence during vacations and business trips. Since the health and well-being of virtually all types of fish depends on the availability of fairly small amounts of food at intervals not exceeding approximately one day, some arrangement must be made during more prolonged periods of absence.
Various prior art proposals have addressed this problem with the type of prior art device most pertinent to this invention being exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 3,487,433, issued to Flemming; U.S. Pat. No. 3,643,632, issued to Poirot; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,688,743, issued to Rack. In this regard, each of the above-mentioned U.S. patents disclose a feeding device that dispenses fish food in response to forces applied by the fish when they are feeding or desire food. For example, the devices disclosed in the patents to Flemming and Rack each basically comprise a food-storage chamber or reservoir that is located above the surface of the water which contains the fish and an actuator rod that extends downwardly into the water. When the fish bump or otherwise disturb the actuator rod, a quantity of food is discharged through an opening in the lower portion of the storage chamber.
Although prior art apparatus, such as that disclosed in the above-mentioned patents, may perform satisfactorily under some circumstances, each such device appears to present one or more disadvantages or drawbacks. For example, because fish of various size are raised in aquariums and because of differences of the habits and feeding practice of various types of fish, certain fish may not be capable of displacing an actuator rod by the amount required to dispense a desired quantity of food. On the other hand, if the food dispenser is configured such that a relatively small force is required to actuate the food dispenser, overfeeding may result and/or the aquarium may become contaminated or fouled due to food that is not ingested by the fish. Further, the reliability of prior art fish food dispensers is not only affected by structural constraints that are inherent to each previously proposed arrangement, but such devices often become partially or wholly inoperative because of moisture that reaches the stored food supply.
In addition to the above problems, many prior art arrangements are relatively complex in structure and hence cannot be manufactured and sold at a cost that is economically attractive. Such structural complexity also often means that the procedure required to install and/or refill the dispenser is not as convenient as would be desired.
In view of the current state of the art, it is an object of this invention to provide a self-feeder for reliably dispensing suitable amounts of fish food during periods of time in which fish, maintained in an aquarium or other tank-like structure, are otherwise unattended.
It is another object of this invention to provide a self-feeder for dispensing fish food wherein the self-feeder is readily adapted for actuation by fish of various species and size.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a self-feeder for dispensing substantially controlled quantities of fish food wherein the self-feeder is economical to manufacture and easily installed and maintained.